Posts Tagged Methodology

Earlier this week someone shared a ‘service blueprint’ with me. It was a one page summary of key information regarding a methodology for a repeated service. I’ve now used it twice with minor adaptations on methodologies that I’m currently designing. It’s a very easy way to summarise key information about a methodology on a single page. I’ve found it especially useful to (1) communicate expectations with multiple parties who need to undertake tasks (2) identify gaps in a methodology or toolkit.

A basic generic template is shown below and can be downloaded at this link. If you do download it please post a comment below. It would be useful to know what you are using it for and any adaptations you make to it.

Here is a quick guide to content of the service blueprint by row:

Stage – Break methodology into a series of stages and give each one a title

Maximum Duration – Estimate maximum duration for each stage. You could also give a maximum / minimum range, or an estimated duration for projects of different scales or complexity.

Physical Evidence – List key physical artefacts that will be produced during a stage. These provide evidence of completion of key tasks in each stage.

Customer Actions – Most projects have an end customer, be they internal or external. Identify key actions / tasks for customer in each stage.

Consultation Actions / Group X Actions – Add a row for each key party that has to complete actions / tasks for any stage. This is similar to a ‘swim lane’ in a process map. Identify key actions / tasks for each party in each stage.

Tools & Templates – List key tools or templates that should / could be used in each stage.